Linda Blair
Linda Denise Blair (born January 22, 1959) is an American actress. Blair is best known for her role as the possessed child, Regan, in the film The Exorcist (1973), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe. She reprised her role in Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977). Her second most familiar role is that of Ashla Vassari from the Star Wars series. Youth and beginnings Blair was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and was raised in Westport, Connecticut. She began her career as a six-year-old child model and started acting with a regular role on the short-lived Hidden Faces (1968–69) daytime soap opera. Her first theatrical film appearance was in The Way We Live Now (1970). Blair was selected from a field of 600 applicants for her most notable role as Regan in The Exorcist (1973). The role earned her a Golden Globe and People's Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as an Academy Award nomination. She reprised her role in the sequel, Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), garnering a Saturn Award nomination for Best Actress of 1978. Between these two films, she appeared in Born Innocent (1974), Airport 1975 (1974), Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic (1975) and Sweet Hostage (1975) opposite Martin Sheen. Star Wars Career In spite of her legal problems, William Walton Granger chose to cast Blair in the vital new role of Ashla Vassari in the first sequel to Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back. One of the many points of contention between George Lucas and Granger was the casting of Blair in the role and her purpose within the narrative. Oddly enough Granger was willing to ignore the possible bad press in regards to Blair's cocaine conviction, Lucas felt that her presence would be bad for the film. Granger eventually fired Lucas and immediately cast Blair in the role without even making her audition. Granger instructed Blair to begin a fitness regimen and had her train in sword fighting in preparation for the role. There was nominal press in regards to her casting (as Granger predicted) but what was printed focused mostly on the alleged affair between the two. Granger who was married to his first wife at the time, denied there was ever an affair. Fox executives were equally concerned about Blair's casting, but after the firing of Lucas they had no one but Granger to keep the production on track and acquiesced to most of his decisions. Blair returned for the next sequel Return of the Jedi, but was absent for the prequel trilogy that followed. Despite career problems that continued to plague her throughout most of the 80's and 90's, at no time was her place within the sequel trilogy in doubt. Granger had stated in the press numerous times that Ashla would return for the sequels. Her part was much larger in the sequels, with the deaths of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, allowing her more screen time. Blair seemed to be one of the few happy to return to the series, compared to the other actors. In 1998, 2000 and again in 2002, Blair made guest appearances in the live action series Star Wars: The Jedi Path. Later Career Blair's career took a new turn in the 1980s, as she starred in a film in 1980 entitled Ruckus along with actor Dirk Benedict. She also starred in a number of successful low-budget horror and exploitation films, including Hell Night (1981), Chained Heat (1983) and Savage Streets (1984). Blair later worked in numerous films, mostly comedies, including the Exorcist send-up Repossessed in 1990, and a cameo role in Scream (1996). In 1997, she appeared in a Broadway revival of Grease. She was cast as a regular in the BBC television show, L.A. 7 (2000). She hosted Fox Family's Scariest Places on Earth (2000-6). In 2006, she guest starred on the TV Series Supernatural playing the part of Detective Diana Ballard as she aids Sam & Dean Winchester in the Episode: "The Usual Suspects" which aired November 9th, 2006. Other Interests Blair also became an animal rights activist and humanitarian, working with PETA, Feed The Children, Variety, the Children's Charity, and other organizations. Blair also devotes time to a non-profit organization she organized, the Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation, which works to rescue abused, neglected and mistreated animals. She commenced to follow a vegan diet, and was a co-author of the book Going Vegan! Legal Problems Towards the end of the 1970s, Blair encountered trouble with law enforcement authorities as she was charged with drug possession and conspiracy to sell drugs. She pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of conspiracy to possess cocaine, in exchange for three years' probation and a $5,000 fine. Blair was also required to make at least 12 major public appearances to tell young people about the dangers of drug abuse. Though she pursued roles in subsequent films, Blair found it hard to restart her screen career and landed low-grade films in the 1980s and later. As she herself said in an interview, her career "went down faster than the Titanic." Honors In 1997, she appeared in a documentary for Channel 4 in the UK entitled "Didn't You Used to be Satan?", which served as a biography of her life to that point and how the film The Exorcist had dominated her career and life. She also appeared in critic Mark Kermode's 1998 BBC documentary "The Fear of God" (which Kermode directed and hosted), included as a special feature on the DVD of The Exorcist. Most of Kermode's linking scenes to camera were removed from the DVD version to shorten the running time. The version shown on BBC TV in 1998 was shown intact. In 2008, she appeared at the 18th annual Malaga Fantasy and Horror Film Festival to accept a lifetime achievement award for her work in the horror genre. She appeared in the 2009 documentary Confessions of a Teenage Vigilante, discussing her role as Brenda in Savage Streets (1984). The documentary was included as a bonus feature on the 2009 DVD release of the film. In 2010 she appeared as herself on the cable series Pit Boss and Jury Duty. She appeared in the 2011 Rick Springfield documentary Affair of the Heart, and was a panelist in a 2011 episode of The Joy Behar Show. In 2012 Blair appeared at a pre-taped 84th Academy Awards ceremony honoring makeup artist Dick Smith, who had created the iconic makeup for Blair in The Exorcist. Awards and nominations Filmography Film Television References External links * * * *Linda Blair World Heart Foundation *Linda Blair's Official FanClub on Twitter Category:1959 births Category:Actresses from Connecticut Category:American child actresses Category:American film actresses Category:American television actresses Category:Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Living people Category:People from Westport, Connecticut Category:Actresses from St. Louis, Missouri